What’s Next For Education

Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service

The American education system is poised to become a battleground for significant changes under the new President and his allies. There is a campaign promise to cut the Department of Education which may or may not be politically viable but other plans may include targeting federal funding for schools if they use inclusive instructional materials and pushing “choice” or vouchers to benefit private institutions.

Experts at the EMS briefing Dec 13 believed that the power of the federal purse and the accreditation system may be used to push higher education institutions to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and the DOE’s office of Civil Rights will be used to preserve the rights of white students. Colleges and universities might also suffer a possible exodus of students due to restrictive new immigration policies, causing further financial challenges.

Pedro Noguera, Dean, USC Rossier School of Education said that no one knows what we can expect from the Trump administration in terms of education, but the truth is that there will be a lot of resistance and conflict if they try to move forward with their plans to dismantle the Department of Education. He said the U.S. Department of Education plays a critical role in providing resources to schools, particularly through Title One, which provides supplemental resources to schools serving poor children; and Pell Grants, which support low-income students to attend college. Both are very popular and essential programs, and while the administration has not said it wants to dismantle or destroy them, those who divest from the Department of Education could put them in jeopardy. Higher education is too expensive in this country and right now we are facing a situation where there will be a decrease in enrollment, which will affect universities across the country and also public schools, and that will produce many changes that they will lead many institutions to close basically because they do not have the necessary students to sustain themselves.

Thomas Toch, Director, FutureEd, Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy said that federal funding for higher education for disadvantaged families in local areas is very important. He believes that federal funding for local education for disadvantaged groups will be limited. The college loan forgiveness program introduced by the Biden administration would also be halted. Due to the restrictions on illegal and legal immigration during the Trump administration, international students will be hit hard.